U.N. says 300,000 Ethiopian children in danger of dying from malnutrition

ANTHONY MITCHELLAssociated Press Writer

Published Thursday, May 05, 2005

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An Ethiopian woman waits for food distribution in Yriba, Boricha Woreda district of Sidama Zone in Ethiopia's Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples' Region in this picture released by World Food Programme on May 4, 2005. Ethiopia launched an appeal on Wednesday for an extra US $48 million in foreign aid for tens of thousands of children amid worsening malnutrition across the country, officials said.

AP Photo ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- As many as 300,000 Ethiopian children will die from malnutrition this year if donors do not come forward with food aid and funds, a U.N. official said Wednesday.

The U.N. children's agency urgently needs $13 million in the next 60 days to feed about 170,000 of those who are now close to starving to death, said Bjorn Ljungqvist, the agency's head in Ethiopia. Most of those in danger in living in parts of southern Ethiopia and in the north along the Eritrean border.

He said: "300,000 children are dying every year from poor nutrition or nutrition-related" causes in Ethiopia.

"That's one tsunami every year. Ethiopia is being hit by a tsunami disaster every year," Ljungqvist said.

Drought as well as delays in distributing food and cash to Ethiopia's impoverished have contributed to growing malnutrition, said Simon Mechale, head of the government's emergency arm.

A U.N. report in October also cited government failure to deal with population growth, slow economic growth and environmental degradation as causes of the food crisis.

In a new appeal for humanitarian aid, Simon said the Horn of Africa nation needs $50 million in addition to the $272 million it asked for late last year. Donors so far have provided only $102 million.

The money is to be used for two programs -- one to provide emergency food aid to about 3.8 million people, and the other to help 5.2 million people become less dependent on aid.